Land Rover Turns the Iconic Defender Into an EV

Land Rover has unveiled a new electric version of the iconic Defender SUV that is going to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Land Rover plans to unveil seven electric Defenders at the show that are powered by a zero-emissions electric powertrain, but still maintains the SUV's all-terrain capability.

"Investing in innovation has always been the lifeblood of our business and our engineering teams are working hard to develop innovative new technology to provide sustainable motoring solutions," said John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director.

The electric Defender is powered by a 94 horsepower electric motor with 243 lb-ft. of torque. The electric motor is gets its power from 300-volt, lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 27kWh, giving a range of more than 50 miles. In typical, low speed off-road use it can last for up to eight hours before recharging. The battery can be fully charged by a 7kW fast charger in four hours, or a portable 3kW charger in 10 hours.

The electric Defenders were developed by Land Rover's Advanced Engineering Team following successful trials of the Defender-based electric vehicle, Leopard 1. The vehicles' capability has been tested in extreme and environmentally sensitive conditions, demonstrating capabilities not shared by conventional road-going EVs.

"This project is acting as a rolling laboratory for Land Rover to assess electric vehicles, even in the most arduous all-terrain conditions. It gives us a chance to evolve and test some of the technologies that may one day be introduced into future Land Rover models," said Antony Harper, Jaguar Land Rover Head of Research.

Unfortunately Land Rover does not have any plans right now to put an electric Defender into production.